Christmas Chaos

I cannot believe Christmas is less than a week away. It came so fast! We're mostly done with our shopping, and the tree has been up for quite a while. We've been enjoying the advent calendar I made and I just don't want it to be over.

Up until this week, I've had a pretty stress-free season. And then...this past weekend happenend:

{last minute christmas crafting}

On Saturday I thought we were all done with our shopping, until I realized we WEREN'T, so of course I freaked out on my husband. You know, because all of that is totally his fault. (NOT). Oh, and I also decided I would make an additional small gift for about six more people. (I'm being vague because I'm pretty sure those gift recipients read this blog :) It's funny how everything I do seems to take at least twice as long as I think it will!

 {welcome to my home! hahahah}

I then realized that I desperately needed to get things in the mail if we wanted them there by Christmas. Does anyone else feel my pain on packaging gifts to send in the mail? I feel like I can never find the right sized box and I'm always running low on packing materials. (Plastic grocery bags work pretty good in a pinch!). So of course I left that project until Sunday.

 

 {our apartment pretty much looks like this and worse all weekend. I won't even show you the kitchen}

So on Sunday, I told myself I would take it easy. I'd just go to church, wrap and package presents and then relax until we went to see The Nutcracker that evening. Well. I lasted on the couch for about 5 minutes. It was then that I realized that my days for making the Christmas cookies I've been intending to make for the last three weeks were limited. So, instead of relaxing like I know I should have, I got to baking. Not just one kind of cookie. THREE KINDS. I know. Sometimes my self-induced crazy is just ridiculous.

Considering I didn't start this whole cookie process until after noon, and that I had to make a run to the store for supplies and that we needed to leave for the show at 4:30, I obviously did not get everything done. So of course I was up late on Sunday finishing as much of said cookie making as I could.

Oh well, I can just finish them after work on Monday, right? Wrong. Why? Because I had plans to go to the movies last night with the husband and friends. So with 30 minutes at home between work and the movies I decide to make ANOTHER batch of cookie dough so that it can chill while we're at the movies. Mind you, I haven't even finished baking/decorating all of the other three batches I started. Why am I so insane? Of course I was up until 11:45 last night, which is way.too.late. for this girl. And considering this is the second night in a row where I got less than 7 hours of sleep, I am DRAGGING this morning.

I  just read a great blog post from what I think might be my new favorite author, Shauna Niequist. My friend Nicole introduced me to her. Currently reading her book, Cold Tangerines, and I just love love love her writing.

Anyway, the blog post was titled Present over Perfect. It was probably just what I needed to hear.

 "You can show up with your perfectly wrapped grab bag gift & your perfectly baked cookies...and your perfectly resentful and frazzled self, ready to snap at the first family member you see.

Or you can choose to rest your body & nourish your spirit, knowing that bringing a grounded, present self to each holiday gathering is more important than the gifts you bring. "

What great advice. Now, if only I can make my crazy, ridiculous self follow it. The fact that every picture in this blog post is completely unedited and un-watermarked is a good start, right? Also, some of my cookies turned out -'ahem- less than perfect. And I'm just rolling with it. Resisting the urge to throw three dozen cookies in the trash. Just letting things go left and right over here.

 

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